Islamic group accuses Republicans of fostering anti-Muslim sentiment

Published: Thursday, April 24, 2014 at 2:57 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, April 24, 2014 at 2:57 p.m.

A Florida Islamic group is accusing some Republican Party lawmakers and local party organizations of fostering anti-Muslim sentiment.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, sent letters to almost every Republican Club or party extension in the state, asking the groups to stop bringing speakers who espouse anti-Islamic views. The letter said it represented the interests of more than 150,000 registered Florida Muslim voters.

Hassan Shibly, executive director for CAIR, based in Tampa, said such speakers not only inflame anti-Islam tensions but have also led to discriminatory legislation: namely Senate Bill 386, which would ban foreign laws from being enacted in Florida; and House Bill 921, which allows school districts to select textbooks instead of adhering to the statewide curriculum.

Shibly said the textbook debate came about after a parent in Volusia County became uncomfortable with the number of pages in a history textbook that described Islam and organized a protest to persuade the school district to stop using the book. The Volusia School District noted that there are many more references to Christianity in the textbook than there are to Islam.

Shibly said the letters were only sent to Republican lawmakers and groups because Republicans drafted and support these two bills and because no other party has invited anti-Islam speakers to give presentations.

“Our office has documented a pattern of local GOP organizations inviting extremist anti-Muslim speakers who promote fear and hatred of the entire Muslim faith and community, often under the pretense of targeting 'radicals,' ” Shibly wrote in the letter.

Sen. Nancy Detert, who represents Sarasota County and part of Charlotte County, refused to comment on the two bills and the letter sent out by CAIR.

“Why should I care about a letter sent out by someone I know nothing about? Is that really worth a story?” Detert said.

Shibly, an attorney from New York who became involved with civil liberty issues among Muslims while still in college, cited several Sarasota County events to illustrate the concerns Islamic leaders have about inflammatory speakers.

On Sept. 11, a Venice remembrance ceremony hosted speaker Tom Trento, who heads “The United West,” a group identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-Islamic hate group.

“I'm not talking about radical Islam or moderate Islam,” Trento said at the ceremony. “I'm talking about all Islam. Their goal is to get every single one of us to convert to Islam. And they won't stop until we do.”

Trento was later invited to speak at a Nokomis-Osprey-Venice Area Republican Club meeting.

Frank Patti, who heads the NOVA Republican Club, said he offered to have anyone with a different viewpoint than Trento to attend the talk and give a rebuttal. No one responded, he said.

“He wasn't going out there and saying we should kill (Muslims) and throw them in prisons,” Patti said. “If CAIR felt that he was wrong, they could have sent someone down.”

But Trento did discuss how he perceived most Muslims in America take marching orders from the Ayatollah and the Muslim Brotherhood, and how the religion was not a religion at all, but an insidious political system out to kill “infidels.”

Shibly said CAIR does not have enough personnel to send to each of these hate speakers' engagements throughout the state, and instead wishes Republican leadership would take a stance against the discriminatory language.

“You don't hear them condemning this kind of speech,” Shibly said. “They have a right to host these speeches, but that doesn't make it right.”

When Republican Party of Sarasota County Chairman Joe Gruters read the CAIR letter, he said he was unsure why it was sent to his chapter.

The Republican Party of Sarasota had never brought a speaker from a designated hate group, but Shibly pointed to a visit by former Florida Congressman Allen West, who has said Islam is not a religion but a “totalitarian theocratic political ideology” at previous speaking engagements.

Gruters said Islam never came up during West's visit to Sarasota, but he said West and others have brought up valid points about Islamic extremists and the threat they pose to America.

“There's no question Islamic extremists represent the greatest challenge to our country moving forward and they're causing us all the pain we're feeling now in Syria, Iran and elsewhere,” Gruters said. “It's those extremist elements that give Islam a bad name.”

He echoed Patti's preference to have both sides present arguments on the virtues and shortcomings of Islam rather than excluding a group of speakers.

But he said he will avoid speakers who inflame tensions unnecessarily.

“I know some of these speakers are aggressive, but some of their points are valid,” Gruters said. “But our focus is winning at the local level. And we're not dealing on these issues on a local level, so there's no sense in riling anyone up.”

SENATE BILL 386 & HOUSE BILL 903

Referred to as the “Anti-Foreign Law Bill” and the “Anti-Sharia Law Bill,” this legislation would keep Florida judges from applying foreign laws. The only exception would be if the foreign law guarantees the same constitutional protections found in the Florida and U.S. constitutions.

The bill is sponsored by Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, in the Senate and Rep. Neil Combee, R-Polk City, in the House.

Gov. Rick Scott has voiced his approval for the measure, but critics say the law is unnecessary and there are virtually no examples of foreign law previously intervening with state laws.

Shibly said the bill is thinly veiled anti-Islam legislation, citing a booklet Hays handed out to other Senators.

According to the Miami Herald, the booklet was called: “Shari'ah Law: Radical Islam's threat to the U.S. Constitution.”

“It's unconstitutional, and we'll seriously consider litigation if it passes,” Shibly said of the bill. “Florida has real problems and we don't have time to fix imaginary ones driven by a discriminatory agenda.”

SB 386 is scheduled for a floor debate Friday; HB 903 has cleared two House committees but as of Thursday afternoon had not be scheduled for the floor.

HOUSE BILL 921/SENATE BILL 864

These bill originally would have eliminated the state Department of Education's role in selecting textbooks and would have had local school districts select their own books. The bill was recently amended to give districts the choice to continue using the state-approved textbooks or to choose their own.

Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, filed the House version after a group of parents in Volusia County grew outraged that a history textbook included a 32-page chapter about Islam.

Orlando's WFTV reported that hundreds of parents protested against the textbook, saying it focused more on Islam than Christianity (but by WFTV's count, there were at least 12 sections dedicated to Christianity in the book and Christianity was mentioned much more frequently than Islam).

Scott Ferguson, a spokesman for the Sarasota County School District, said if this measure passes, the school board hopes it will provide flexibility.

“We're hoping ultimately if the bill does pass along these lines that it will provide the flexibility so that local districts can use the current state process if they'd like to,” Ferguson said.

Shibly of the Council on American-Islam Relations said the bill would create a patchwork of curricula that would make it more difficult for the state to set standards for achievement. He also worried some districts might use the measure to push their ideas onto students.

“There's going to be a nasty fight in every single one of those districts,” Shibly said. “My office will be very busy trying to keep xenophobia out of textbooks."

The bill passed unanimously through the Florida House of Representative's Education Committee and has been placed on the House's Second Reading Calendar.

<p>A Florida Islamic group is accusing some Republican Party lawmakers and local party organizations of fostering anti-Muslim sentiment. </p><p>The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, sent letters to almost every Republican Club or party extension in the state, asking the groups to stop bringing speakers who espouse anti-Islamic views. The letter said it represented the interests of more than 150,000 registered Florida Muslim voters.</p><p>Hassan Shibly, executive director for CAIR, based in Tampa, said such speakers not only inflame anti-Islam tensions but have also led to discriminatory legislation: namely Senate Bill 386, which would ban foreign laws from being enacted in Florida; and House Bill 921, which allows school districts to select textbooks instead of adhering to the statewide curriculum.</p><p>Shibly said the textbook debate came about after a parent in Volusia County became uncomfortable with the number of pages in a history textbook that described Islam and organized a protest to persuade the school district to stop using the book. The Volusia School District noted that there are many more references to Christianity in the textbook than there are to Islam.</p><p>Shibly said the letters were only sent to Republican lawmakers and groups because Republicans drafted and support these two bills and because no other party has invited anti-Islam speakers to give presentations.</p><p>“Our office has documented a pattern of local GOP organizations inviting extremist anti-Muslim speakers who promote fear and hatred of the entire Muslim faith and community, often under the pretense of targeting 'radicals,' ” Shibly wrote in the letter.</p><p>Sen. Nancy Detert, who represents Sarasota County and part of Charlotte County, refused to comment on the two bills and the letter sent out by CAIR.</p><p>“Why should I care about a letter sent out by someone I know nothing about? Is that really worth a story?” Detert said.</p><p>Shibly, an attorney from New York who became involved with civil liberty issues among Muslims while still in college, cited several Sarasota County events to illustrate the concerns Islamic leaders have about inflammatory speakers.</p><p>On Sept. 11, a Venice remembrance ceremony hosted speaker Tom Trento, who heads “The United West,” a group identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-Islamic hate group.</p><p>“I'm not talking about radical Islam or moderate Islam,” Trento said at the ceremony. “I'm talking about all Islam. Their goal is to get every single one of us to convert to Islam. And they won't stop until we do.”</p><p>Trento was later invited to speak at a Nokomis-Osprey-Venice Area Republican Club meeting.</p><p>Frank Patti, who heads the NOVA Republican Club, said he offered to have anyone with a different viewpoint than Trento to attend the talk and give a rebuttal. No one responded, he said.</p><p>“He wasn't going out there and saying we should kill (Muslims) and throw them in prisons,” Patti said. “If CAIR felt that he was wrong, they could have sent someone down.”</p><p>But Trento did discuss how he perceived most Muslims in America take marching orders from the Ayatollah and the Muslim Brotherhood, and how the religion was not a religion at all, but an insidious political system out to kill “infidels.”</p><p>Shibly said CAIR does not have enough personnel to send to each of these hate speakers' engagements throughout the state, and instead wishes Republican leadership would take a stance against the discriminatory language.</p><p>“You don't hear them condemning this kind of speech,” Shibly said. “They have a right to host these speeches, but that doesn't make it right.”</p><p>When Republican Party of Sarasota County Chairman Joe Gruters read the CAIR letter, he said he was unsure why it was sent to his chapter.</p><p>The Republican Party of Sarasota had never brought a speaker from a designated hate group, but Shibly pointed to a visit by former Florida Congressman Allen West, who has said Islam is not a religion but a “totalitarian theocratic political ideology” at previous speaking engagements.</p><p>Gruters said Islam never came up during West's visit to Sarasota, but he said West and others have brought up valid points about Islamic extremists and the threat they pose to America.</p><p>“There's no question Islamic extremists represent the greatest challenge to our country moving forward and they're causing us all the pain we're feeling now in Syria, Iran and elsewhere,” Gruters said. “It's those extremist elements that give Islam a bad name.”</p><p>He echoed Patti's preference to have both sides present arguments on the virtues and shortcomings of Islam rather than excluding a group of speakers.</p><p>But he said he will avoid speakers who inflame tensions unnecessarily.</p><p>“I know some of these speakers are aggressive, but some of their points are valid,” Gruters said. “But our focus is winning at the local level. And we're not dealing on these issues on a local level, so there's no sense in riling anyone up.”</p><p><b>SENATE BILL 386 & HOUSE BILL 903</b></p><p>Referred to as the “Anti-Foreign Law Bill” and the “Anti-Sharia Law Bill,” this legislation would keep Florida judges from applying foreign laws. The only exception would be if the foreign law guarantees the same constitutional protections found in the Florida and U.S. constitutions.</p><p>The bill is sponsored by Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, in the Senate and Rep. Neil Combee, R-Polk City, in the House.</p><p>Gov. Rick Scott has voiced his approval for the measure, but critics say the law is unnecessary and there are virtually no examples of foreign law previously intervening with state laws.</p><p>Shibly said the bill is thinly veiled anti-Islam legislation, citing a booklet Hays handed out to other Senators.</p><p>According to the Miami Herald, the booklet was called: “Shari'ah Law: Radical Islam's threat to the U.S. Constitution.” </p><p>“It's unconstitutional, and we'll seriously consider litigation if it passes,” Shibly said of the bill. “Florida has real problems and we don't have time to fix imaginary ones driven by a discriminatory agenda.”</p><p>SB 386 is scheduled for a floor debate Friday; HB 903 has cleared two House committees but as of Thursday afternoon had not be scheduled for the floor.</p><p><b>HOUSE BILL 921/SENATE BILL 864</b></p><p>These bill originally would have eliminated the state Department of Education's role in selecting textbooks and would have had local school districts select their own books. The bill was recently amended to give districts the choice to continue using the state-approved textbooks or to choose their own.</p><p>Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, filed the House version after a group of parents in Volusia County grew outraged that a history textbook included a 32-page chapter about Islam.</p><p>Orlando's WFTV reported that hundreds of parents protested against the textbook, saying it focused more on Islam than Christianity (but by WFTV's count, there were at least 12 sections dedicated to Christianity in the book and Christianity was mentioned much more frequently than Islam).</p><p>Scott Ferguson, a spokesman for the Sarasota County School District, said if this measure passes, the school board hopes it will provide flexibility.</p><p>“We're hoping ultimately if the bill does pass along these lines that it will provide the flexibility so that local districts can use the current state process if they'd like to,” Ferguson said.</p><p>Shibly of the Council on American-Islam Relations said the bill would create a patchwork of curricula that would make it more difficult for the state to set standards for achievement. He also worried some districts might use the measure to push their ideas onto students.</p><p>“There's going to be a nasty fight in every single one of those districts,” Shibly said. “My office will be very busy trying to keep xenophobia out of textbooks."</p><p>The bill passed unanimously through the Florida House of Representative's Education Committee and has been placed on the House's Second Reading Calendar.</p>